Xerox to Sell Its China Operations to Fuji Xerox for $550 Million
Rochester, N.Y. — Xerox Corporation following through on a key tenet in its businessturnaround plan, today announced an agreement to sell its China operations to Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd. for $550 million cash. The sale is scheduled to close Dec. 20.
Under the terms of the agreement, the manufacturing, sales and service functions in China and Hong Kong, including ownership of Xerox (China) Ltd. and Xerox (Hong Kong) Ltd.will be transferred to Fuji Xerox.
The sale of Xerox China is part of an asset-disposition initiative outlined by XeroxCorporation in October. The company's business turnaround program also includes significant cost reductions and a renewed commitment to its core business operations.
"Our asset disposition initiative, designed to raise $2 billion to $4 billion, is on track. The first of those sales, Xerox China operations, is ahead of schedule. And our $1 billion cost-reduction program is on target," said Paul A. Allaire, Xerox chairman and chief executive
officer. "We will announce additional actions that will further improve our liquidity as they are agreed."
Xerox began marketing products in Hong Kong in 1964 and entered the market in China in 1980. In 1995, Xerox established Xerox (China) Limited, to hold the company's mainland China interests including wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures with Chinese national
companies. Xerox China has approximately 1,500 employees with 1999 sales of $200 million.
"With our unique understanding of the Asia-Pacific marketplace, we are eager to make the investments that will deliver the latest technology to the Chinese marketplace, provide a broader range of products and services for Xerox China customers and offer growth and
opportunity for Xerox China employees," said Masamoto Sakamoto, president, Fuji Xerox.
To drive the business forward, on Jan. 1, 2001 Fuji Xerox will establish a China Office reporting to Sakamoto. "This is welcome news for Xerox China customers," said Allan Lin, president and chief executive officer, Xerox China. "Xerox Corporation has made investments
to build a world-class manufacturing, sales and marketing organization in China. Fuji Xerox will build on that foundation and ensure our customers benefit from the next generation of document processing technologies. And the brand, the commitment to quality and customer
satisfaction will remain unchanged."
For more information visit the Xerox website at www.xerox.com.
This article originally appeared in the Janaury 2001 issue of Recharger.